A hidden gas switch controls tomato ripening and yield together
Zhang M, Guan L, Sun H, Li M, Guo X
Plant Signaling
The tomatoes ripening too fast on your kitchen counter or in your garden bed are running on the same internal chemistry this study just decoded, and cracking that code could mean sturdier plants that produce more fruit that lasts longer before spoiling.
Tomato plants make a smelly gas called hydrogen sulfide that acts like a brake pedal, slowing down both leaf aging and fruit ripening. Researchers found a chain of proteins where one protein normally speeds up ripening, but the gas can chemically tag that protein to shut it down, which then unlocks a second protein pair that helps the plant grow bigger, produce more fruit, and keep those fruits fresh longer. Breeding or engineering tomatoes to fine-tune this switch could give us plants that grow more vigorously and hold their fruit quality longer on the vine or in storage.
Key Findings
A hydrogen-sulfide-deficient tomato mutant (sllcd1) showed premature fruit ripening and stunted plant growth, while overexpressing the protein SlWRKY6 sped up ripening but cut fruit number.
Hydrogen sulfide chemically modifies SlWRKY6 (persulfidation), blocking its ability to repress the SlGIF2 gene and thereby increasing SlGIF2 activity.
The SlGRF1-SlGIF2 protein complex simultaneously activates a cell-growth gene (SlCYCD3;1) and a hydrogen-sulfide-producing enzyme gene (SlCBSX5), linking plant growth, fruit yield, and delayed ripening in one genetic module.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists identified a genetic switch in tomato plants that lets the gas hydrogen sulfide slow down fruit ripening while also boosting how many fruits the plant grows, offering a possible way to keep tomatoes fresher longer without sacrificing yield.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
SlWRKY6 Mediates H2S Signaling and SlGRF1-SlGIF2 Module to Coordinately Regulate Plant Growth, Fruit yield and Ripening in Tomato.
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a gaseous signaling molecule, retards plant senescence and fruit ripening via protein persulfidation. However, the molecular mechanism underlying its coordination of fruit r...
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